Gambling

News about Gambling, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 26, 2015

Major League Baseball opens investigation into Miami Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart, who made comments online about gambling. MORE

Mar. 22, 2015

Lives essay by Francesca Patrizi recounts her discovery that her father had a gambling addiction, which led to her parents' separation, and helped her to become more fiscally responsible. MORE

Mar. 17, 2015

Research published in The Journal of Gambling Studies shows that there are 9.2 quintillion ways to fill out NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket, and that even those with knowledge of team rankings and player statistics face odds of one in 128 billion for hitting perfect bracket. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

The Upshot; accuracy of online betting markets' odds regarding Academy Award nominations offers better picture of what Hollywood insiders have always known, namely the likely winners in each category; difference between popular opinion of Oscar favorites and those of betting markets highlights predictive advantages of asking people to put financial stake in their predictions. MORE

Jan. 29, 2015

Data from odds tracker Covers indicates that the Atlanta Hawks have covered the spread 33 times in the current season, more than any other NBA team in comparable period throughout past quarter-century; trend has made team a popular choice with bettors. MORE

Jan. 25, 2015

Ian McGugan It's the Economy column agrees with argument advanced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to legalize gambling; notes basketball in particular is vulnerable to negative effects of illegal gambling, as case of referee Tim Donaghy showed; observes economists have long argued that legal gambling will reduce corruption in sports. MORE

Jan. 24, 2015

Sports betting website Covers finds that New England Patriots exceeded spread 80 percent of time in wet conditions over past 12 seasons, compared with 56 percent in dry conditions during same period; analysis comes as NFL investigates whether Patriots intentionally deflated ball used in AFC championship game against Indianapolis Colts. MORE

Dec. 15, 2014

Officials in Suffolk And Nassau Counties are hoping for financial windfall from gamblers at new electronic slot machine parlors planned by Off-Track Betting Corp. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

French chair umpire Morgan Lamri becomes first official to be suspended for gambling-related corruption by the Tennis Integrity Unit; receives lifetime ban. MORE

Nov. 22, 2014

Judge Michael Shipp of Federal District Court rules that New Jersey cannot partially lift prohibition on sports betting; state had sought to end prohibition in effort to support struggling horse track and casino industries. MORE

Nov. 21, 2014

Lawyers for professional sports leagues, arguing in federal court against New Jersey's aggressive push to legalize sports gambling, contend that state's plan is devoid of regulatory framework for proper oversight of sports betting. MORE

Nov. 16, 2014

Chuck Klosterman The Ethicist column answers questions about an athlete betting on favorable outcome for his team and ordering type of coffee that is on menu but unavailable at coffee shop after seeing a previous customer receive gift certificate for that item. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver becomes first chief of a major American sports league to call for federal sports betting laws to be changed so that states can allow betting on games; shift could represent major new income source for the NBA; other sports leagues, including the NFL, stand firm in their defense of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which bans sports betting in all but a few instances. MORE

Nov. 14, 2014

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver breaks from years of precedent as he calls for legalization of sports gambling in a New York Times Op-Ed article; Silver's contention that sports gambling has become a popular form of entertainment in the United States that simply needs to be carefully regulated is a stark reversal of the NBA's long-standing opposition to sports betting. MORE

Nov. 14, 2014

Op-Ed article by National Basketball Assn Commissioner Adam Silver calls for legalization of sports betting in the United States; urges Congress to adopt federal framework that allows states to authorize betting on professional sports, subject to strict regulatory requirements and safeguards. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

The Upshot; voters in five states considered proposals to significantly expand legal gambling, approving three of them; approvals of such plans are part of strange trend nationwide where states have been encouraged to expand gambling, despite fact that American market is saturated and revenue is in decline in most major casino markets. MORE

Oct. 25, 2014

Federal Judge Michael Shipp grants request by major professional sports leagues and the NCAA to temporarily stop New Jersey from allowing legalized sports betting in effort to ensure that issue is argued in court. MORE

Oct. 21, 2014

Four major professional sports leagues and the National Collegiate Athletic Association file a lawsuit and will seek a temporary injunction to halt New Jersey's plan to legalize sports betting; complaint is the latest battle pitting New Jersey against national sports organizations over the state’s efforts to circumvent a 1992 federal law banning the sanctioning or licensing of sports betting. MORE

Oct. 14, 2014

MGM Resorts International, one of world's biggest casino operators, is lobbying New York State lawmakers to support legislation that would legalize online poker in the state; main sponsor of proposal, Republican State Sen John J Bonacic, whose district includes the Catskills, argues that allowing people to play poker online could be a source of additional revenue for New York. MORE

Sep. 15, 2014

Editorial criticizes New Jersey Gov Chris Christie for working to allow casinos and racetracks to take bets on sporting events, despite fact that gambling industry in the state is in deep trouble; contends that proposal could do little to address state's unemployment problem, and could damage integrity of sports. MORE

Sep. 7, 2014

Japan's once popular game of pachinko, facing decline, is trying to reinvent itself by appealing to new customers, mainly younger Japanese who grew up playing video and computer games; industry is also cleaning up its image as a haven for gangsters and an older generation of people; barely 10 million people played pachinko in 2013, compared to 30 million in 1990s. MORE

Aug. 18, 2014

Eight Pakistani field hockey officials appear in court on gambling charges; gambling is illegal in Pakistan. MORE

Jul. 31, 2014

Joseph Isgro is arraigned on New York State charges that he helped run sports betting operation for Gambino crime family; Isgro has had an illustrious life, with connections to Hollywood and organized crime underworld, and has long been reputed soldier for Gambinos. MORE

Jul. 29, 2014

Daily fantasy sports website DraftKings lets players put their skills, and cash, up against others’ while compressing the grind of a season into a single day; Major League Baseball especially has taken daily fantasy sports under its wing and formed partnership with DraftKings; baseball executives see daily fantasy sports as an increasingly important part of their future. MORE

Jul. 7, 2014

Pete Rose, barred from baseball since 1989 for betting on his own team, Cincinnati Reds, returns to manage independent team Bridgeport Bluefish in Connecticut for one game; he has found a kind of peace, even without a plaque in Cooperstown, NY, or another job in baseball; his records for games, at-bats and hits, and his favorite category, games won, secure him an indelible legacy. MORE

Jul. 2, 2014

Cameroon's soccer federation announces investigation into whether national team participated in match fixing, paying particular attention to lopsided loss to Croatia in the opening round; notorious match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal accurately predicted both the 4-0 score and the first-half ejection of Cameroon player Alex Song; federation has long been at odds with players over payment dispute. MORE

Jun. 26, 2014

Dr Benjamin Y Hayden study in The Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition examines phenomenon of belief in 'hot hand,' or winning streak; study suggests that belief that positive events will continue replicating themselves is side effect of quirk of human brain evolution. MORE

Jun. 8, 2014

Editorial raises doubts about ability of FIFA, soccer's world governing body, to protect the World Cup tournament from the rising threat of match fixing; notes untold millions in bets will be on the line; maintains FIFA owes it to world community and fans to keep matches clean. MORE

Jun. 7, 2014

Belmont Stakes for 2014 will be the first with a Triple Crown contender since OTB parlors in New York City closed in 2010; only place to physically place a bet in the city is at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens; other options for gamblers are in New Jersey, Long Island, Yonkers or online. MORE

Jun. 2, 2014

Testimony of Wilson Raj Perumal, Singaporean match-fixer arrested in Finland, reveals how pervasively illicit gambling operations have infected global soccer; Perumal's account details how his syndicate manipulated hundreds of professional soccer matches around the world, including World Cup exhibition matches in 2010, by identifying players and referees who were ripe for bribery (Series: Rigged). MORE

Jun. 1, 2014

Investigative report by FIFA, soccer world's governing body, raises serious questions about vulnerability of World Cup to match fixing; report, which has yet to be released, found that match-rigging syndicate and its referees infiltrated upper reaches of global soccer in order to fix exhibition matches and exploit them for betting purposes (Series: Rigged). MORE

Mar. 28, 2014

Push by billionaire casino magnate Sheldon G Adelson to outlaw online gambling has ignited bitter civil war in gambling industry, dividing one of Washington's most powerful interest groups and posing major test of Republican donor's political clout; effort officially begins as lawmakers introduce legislation that would close loophole in federal law by banning online gambling. MORE

Mar. 15, 2014

NCAA has long refused to hold its tournament games in Las Vegas, citing strict opposition to gambling, despite fact that city is a perfect fit for the events; most leagues in the Pacific and Mountain time zones choose to have their postseason tournaments in Las Vegas, creating a strange inconsistency for fans, coaches and administrators. MORE

Mar. 7, 2014

Australian officials drop a charge against Daniel Thomas Dobson of Great Britain, who had been accused of illegally relaying information from the Australian Open for the possible benefit of bettors elsewhere. MORE

Feb. 18, 2014

Chinese government has widened a crackdown on prostitution, gambling and drug use to include major provinces across the country. MORE

Feb. 5, 2014

Sampling of Winter Olympics odds from the British online gambling company Ladbrokes. MORE

Feb. 4, 2014

Majority of the betting public counted on a storybook ending to Denver quarterback Peyton Manning’s magical season, and lost big as a result; Seattle Seahawks’ 43-8 destruction of the Broncos in the Super Bowl defied the expectations of most. MORE

Feb. 2, 2014

James Vlahos article portrays the scene at the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino SuperContest, world's pre-eminent football-handicapping tournament; notes gambling on football is wildly popular in America, with one in five men and nearly 1 in 10 women saying they bet on sports in 2012. MORE

Jan. 28, 2014

Oddsmakers who decide the numbers and proposition bets for the Super Bowl affect everything from office pools to bets made with neighborhood bookies. MORE

Jan. 24, 2014

Daniel Thomas Dobson, British man facing charges that he illegally relayed information from the Australian Open, is allowed to post $9,000 bail to get his passport back; Dobson promises to return if judge decides he must face trial for accusations that he violated state of Victoria's new law against corrupting sports betting. MORE

Jan. 22, 2014

Scandal surrounding Daniel Dobson, man accused of using technology to transmit data live from the Australian Open to his employer, has brought concerns about data harvesting in professional tennis to the fore; Dobson's ploy allowed gambling consulting company Sporting Data access to key information as much as 10 seconds faster than through official channels. MORE

Jan. 10, 2014

Hockey's New Jersey Devils and baseball's Philadelphia 76ers, who are owned by same group, become first American major professional sports teams to join up with an online gambling company; teams make multiyear deal worth a reported $10 million with partypoker.com, a site that enables players in New Jersey to wager money in online poker games. MORE

Dec. 29, 2013

Italy has become largest gambling market in Europe in decade since regulations were significantly relaxed; fears of social breakdown have led several regions to pass laws aimed at curtailing industry. MORE

Dec. 19, 2013

Gail Collins Op-Ed column compares addictive pull of mobile game Candy Crush Saga with New Jersey Gov Chris Christie's legalization of Internet gambling; predicts move cannot possibly be a step in the right direction, and questions Christie's potential for national office. MORE

Nov. 27, 2013

New Jersey begins allowing Internet gambling in effort to tap into new sources of revenue outside Atlantic City; state hopes to attract younger, more web-dependent demographic without stealing customers from state's struggling casinos. MORE

Nov. 26, 2013

Editorial holds implementation of online gambling in New Jersey represents serious danger to gamblers with addiction problems; contends new measure is all the more reprehensible as it is not tied to regional economic development. MORE

Nov. 13, 2013

Hillel Nahmad, jet-setting scion of a family whose gallery is a pivotal force in the art market, pleads guilty to a single federal gambling charge; admits to playing leadership role in reputed $100 million gambling ring and money-laundering network; Nahmad is part of a sweeping racketeering indictment that also charged several reputed Russian mob figures. MORE

Nov. 3, 2013

Ross Douthat Op-Ed column contends the cultural trends that have altered the way Americans think about sex and reproduction have wider repercussions; cites the way attitudes have changed toward marijuana and casino gambling; contends both issues illustrate the potential problems facing a culture pervaded by an expressive individualism and an allergy to any restriction on what individuals choose to do. MORE

Oct. 27, 2013

Walt Disney Co, which has long led fight against expansion of casinos in Florida, is finding that keeping its constantly growing entertainment conglomerate completely removed from gambling is far more challenging than it used to be; Disney's latest challenge is fact that Marvel superheroes, which the company acquired in 2009, continue to appear on slot machines, Internet slot machines and state lottery tickets. MORE

Oct. 12, 2013

Jacksonville Jaguars are 28-point underdog to Denver Broncos, spread that has become the talk of the NFL and sports bookmakers. MORE

More than half the population in the Northeast now lives within 25 miles of a casino featuring video lotteries, table games or slot machines, up from about 10 percent a decade ago. As the market grows crowded, many older casinos are declining or going bankrupt.